1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the optical field and, in particular, to an optical route design system and method capable of determining how much margin there is in a design of an optical span.
2. Description of Related Art
In the fiber optic field, one of the more significant design challenges today involves the development of a new optical route design tool that can effectively simulate and test the design of an optical span (optical fiber transmission path). Traditional optical route design tools often have a user specify an “unallocated margin” that is to be incorporated into the design of an optical span. The “unallocated margin” is intended as a “safety factor” to ensure that a later built real optical span has enough “margin” or “robustness” so that it can properly operate even after fiber cuts are repaired or other changes are made which can impact the total loss or distance of the fiber optic transmission path.
The traditional optical route design tools specify the “unallocated margin” in terms of additional attenuation that is a part of each segment of fiber optic cable that make-up the total fiber optic transmission path. However, the additional attenuation of “unallocated margin” is imaginary, in that it does not exist in the real optical span unless future activities of some sort add attenuation to the real optical span. As such, the use of “unallocated margin” in designing an optical span can be problematical for at least two reasons: 1) there is always the issue of whether or not the specified “unallocated margin” is enough, not enough, or too much; and 2) the specifying of additional attenuation that is not really there affects the results of the simulation which could lead to inaccurate or misleading designs. In other words, traditional optical route design tools require the user to specify the amount of “unallocated margin” that is to be used in the design of an optical span which can result in the installation of a failure prone optical span or an under-utilized optical span. Accordingly, there is and has been a need for an optical route design system and method than can effectively calculate and tell a user how much margin there is in a design of an optical span instead of requiring the user estimate to for themselves how much margin there should be in an optical span. These needs and other needs are satisfied by the optical route design system and method of the present invention.